Wärtsilä expands services offering in the Netherlands

Wärtsilä expands its services capacity in the Netherlands with new, larger premises and a modern training centre. Today, Wärtsilä inaugurates a new Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy training centre at Waalwijk in the Netherlands. With this large-scale training establishment, Wärtsilä is able to offer its customers, its own employees and educational institutions, a broad package of technical training programmes. In addition, Wärtsilä inaugurated new and larger services premises in Ijmuiden last week.

International training centre in Waalwijk

The Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy at Waalwijk covers an area of 2000 square metres, and contains nine schooling rooms, four conference rooms, and a large workshop. The new centre is one of ten Wärtsilä training centres worldwide.

“In 2009, we expect to welcome some 800 to 1000 students to Waalwijk. We are very pleased to have the Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy here, where we can provide, among others, training programs for propulsion, automation and engine products,” says Job van der Burgt, Vice President Services, Wärtsilä in the Netherlands.

The Wärtsilä Land & Sea facility offers product-specific training programmes in the area of diesel engines and propulsion systems, as well as customised training. The training centre has the latest teaching tools, such as simulators for operating systems, and smart boards to explain the technology. To support the theoretical programmes, the workshop has a large number of engines and propellers for hands-on practical work.

The training team consists of eleven people, all with years of practical engineering experience. The entire team is IMO 6.09 certified (training for teachers in the maritime field).

“Over the years, we have developed and opened several Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academies around the world. The various training locations co-operate closely to develop the programmes, and use each other’s teachers when specific knowledge is required. We aim at optimum synergy so that our customers and employees can enjoy the best possible service,” says Jari Ullakonoja, Director Training Services, Wärtsilä Services.

New facilities in Ijmuiden

Last week, Wärtsilä inaugurated new modern services premises in Ijmuiden, also in the Netherlands, which cover an area of 3000 square metres. The new premises include office space, an in-house schooling room, and an impressive workshop. The new larger workshop enables the company to deliver a broad range of services. The workshop has state-of-the-art machines and portable tools to carry out repairs and maintenance work, both in the workshop itself and on board the vessels.

“Compared to the previous premises of 560 square metres, we have made a huge improvement in space. This means that, from this service location, we can offer so much more support to our customers,” says Job van der Burgt.

The Ijmuiden location maintains and overhauls marine engines and propulsion systems. The expanded workshop gives the company the ability to work on larger engines and propulsion systems.

The Ijmuiden service location delivers spare parts, service support, and technical expertise primarily to vessels working in dredging, fishing and inland shipping applications.

The location enables Wärtsilä to be well placed to serve its customers in the Netherlands, and to provide quick response to demand for services. Because of its favourable location, Ijmuiden is a well-established base of operations for shipping between Amsterdam and the North Sea, and for vessels returning from sea.

Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of close to 19,000 professionals manning 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki in Finland.www.wartsila.com